Forest Being Transferred to Build Nuclear Plant

The government has allocated 242.3 hectares of land from the forest fund to construct the Nizhny Novgorod Nuclear Power Plant, Interfax reported. According to a government order dated July 11, 242.3 hectares in the Nizhny Novgorod region included in the Navashino district forest area will be transferred to the category of land for industry, energy, transport, communications, broadcasting, television and informatics, land for space activities, land for defense and security and land for other special purposes for the construction of nuclear power plants.

Last November, the government signed an order to build the power plant with two energy-generating units of at least 1,150 MW each and launch in 2019 and 2021. Preliminary data has the project estimated to cost 240 billion rubles ($7.38 billion). The plan is to build the facility in the Navashino district, one kilometer west of the town of Monakovo near the Murom — Nizhny Novgorod road. Previously, there was talk of commencing construction at the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015.